Wow. That is my gut reaction. 9th grade was my first interaction with the WBC. It really confused me to what I should think of myself as the written word said one thing and my hormones said another. It created a large pain in my mind that took me many years to get over. I am today 30 and an openly gay man to anyone who may have a question or conversation they may want to have with me on the topic of sexuality. The freedom of speech does need to be protected. The shock value someone says to another may hurt but in the long term it should help us become a stronger and wiser person.

This piece was originally published on AlterNet. Let's start with something I hope we all agree on. What Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church do? It's repulsive. Picketing people's funerals? Specifically, picketing the funerals of gay-bashing victims and U.S. soldiers? Going to people's f...